Kelly Macdonald
There are approximately 75 people named Kelly Macdonald living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,570,058 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Kelly with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Macdonald. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
75
1 in 4,570,058
Named Kelly
494K
Alive today
Named Macdonald
52K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 494K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1968
Average age: 48
Top Census group: White (85.6%)
Estimated bearers: 52K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #752
Per 100K: 15.10
Top ancestry: White (90.5%)
First name trend
Kelly: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kelly. The peak year was 1968 with 20,197 births. The average person named Kelly today is 48 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelly
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Kelly, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kelly described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Kelly at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.6% · 427,397
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 25,501
- Black or African American3.3% · 16,500
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 14,049
- Two or more races2.6% · 13,098
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2,681
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Macdonald surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Macdonald, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 90.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Macdonald described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Macdonald at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White90.5% · 40,826
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,613
- Two or more races3.2% · 1,428
- Black or African American1.3% · 603
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 476
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 180
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kelly has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1442% of the US population, based on 494,171 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Kelly right now.
The surname Macdonald appears at a rate of 15.10 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0151%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 75 people with the full name Kelly Macdonald. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Kelly
Related
Other people with the surname Macdonald
FAQ
Kelly Macdonald: questions and answers
How many people are named Kelly Macdonald?
We estimate approximately 75 people in the United States share the full name Kelly Macdonald. That works out to about 1 in 4,570,058 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1442%) with the surname frequency (15.10 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kelly Macdonald?
We classify Kelly Macdonald as "Very Rare". About 1 in 4,570,058 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kelly a male or female name?
Kelly is predominantly unisex. Out of 555,958 total SSA registrations, 14.8% were male and 85.2% were female. See the full Kelly profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Kelly Macdonald?
For a quick modern take, check how common the name Kelly Macdonald is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.